A Life Full of Adventure

Mist:  Human Shadow Walker (Mage/Thief) Level 4 Jairus:  Elven Mage/Thief Level 3/4 Kell:  Human Ravager (Barbarian) Level 4 Sanaka:  Human Windwalker (Priest) Level 4 Gunel:  Human Fighter/Gladiator Level 4 Droop: Goblin Lackey (Fighter) Level 1 ( Previous notes ) The Palace of the Count of Eor The party was Quested by the church of Ilmater to assist the Count of Eor in his time of need. They traveled north then east from Neverwinter to Vendare, the capital of Eor. (Meta: Do not look for this on a map of Faerun. I plopped it where it was convenient. Think east of The Crags.)  They met with the Count and his clerical advisor. They passed whatever final tests the cleric secretly put them to and were taken into the Count's confidence: "You are accepted for this task. What you must do seems simple. Travel to the village of Waycombe in the south. Learn the fate of my squad of men; they were led by Barto Trume, one of my most trusted soldie...

(I have merged all my Phandelver posts into this one for easy access.) [D&D 2e] Lost Mine of Phandelver 1 A couple months ago, our D&D DM switched up responsibilities at work and stated he couldn't run our games for a while. He offered to let me run something while he got back in the groove at work. We play 2nd edition D&D, but I wanted to play the Lost Mine of Phandelver. I wanted our group to be part of a shared adventure experience, though we play an old edition. Last month we got together and made characters. Here's what I have going into the game: Human Shadow Walker  (Wizards and Rogues of the Realm Handbook) Human Justifier  (Complete Book of Rangers) Elven Mage/Thief Human Ravager  (Complete Book of Barbarians) Human Windwalker  (Specialty priest of Shaundakul - Faiths and Avatars) Human Fighter  using the Gladiator kit I can tell I'm going to have to step up the number of enemies listed in the adventure. [D&D 2e] Lost M...

My PC Vaervenshyael  - Female Elf Duellist My companions Tankred "Silver Bear" Tenneckermann  - Human Artisan/Mercenary Wilhelm Hechland  - Human Pistoleer/Engineer Doctor  Johann Wilhelm Woeller  - Human Physician ( Previous Notes ) From the southern end of the room, two forms began...flirting with the party. They approached Tankred in a haughty manner. Tankred suggested foul magic, and he attacked the forms. Vaervenshyael waited around a corner with her guns loaded and ready to fire. Her first shot missed, and the sensual beings were upon them. Vaervenshyael drew her rapier and lunged at the form on the right. She was distracted by the lusts emanating from the creature, but she managed to slay one, with Wilhelm's assistance, while Tankred killed the other. The party entered through two doors beyond the dead...demons. Inside, a large room held an 8 sided dais. In the middle was a pedestal with a grey flame flickering above. Harpies erupted...

I think it's fair to say that encounter tables are meant to be tailored for your adventure, your campaign, your world. If something on the table doesn't fit, you're not using the proper table. The tables in published modules usually fit because the author(s) have selected creatures that make sense for the adventure. Next: a random encounter doesn't mean a fight. That's what reaction rolls and reaction adjustments are for. (Remember that Charisma score you used as a dump stat...). Maybe the bugbears approach cautiously because they have recently been in one scrape and are in no shape to be in another. Maybe the barbarian encounter you rolled is a group who wants to trade. Tailor the encounter result to your game.  Again, a random encounter doesn't mean a fight. That's why there are chances of things that aren't "level appropriate" (Side note: there's no such consideration for "old school" games). If you roll a dragon, nothi...

Mist:  Human Shadow Walker (Mage/Thief) Jairus:  Elven Mage/Thief Kell:  Human Ravager (Barbarian) Sanaka:  Human Windwalker (Priest) Gunel:  Human Fighter/Gladiator ( Previous notes ) Finishing the Caves The party left off in a starry cavern with two rooms worked into the eastern side. One was on the level where they entered, and the other room was down a flight of stairs worked into an escarpment. They tried a door to the room near where they entered and ended up having a tea party with a slightly mad Beholder-kin. They left this room, headed down the stairs, and explored the room at the bottom. The door was cracked open, it's hinges melted. It took a couple of the stronger members of the party to pull the doors open. From the doorway, a scorched iron chest caught the party's eye at the foot of an old bed. The moment someone stepped into the room, a ghostly form rose up from the floor. "Your presence is offensive to me, your life forfeit. M...

Mist:  Human Shadow Walker (Mage/Thief) Jairus:  Elven Mage/Thief Kell:  Human Ravager (Barbarian) Sanaka:  Human Windwalker (Priest) Gunel:  Human Fighter/Gladiator ( Previous notes ) Printed Intro Fifteen miles east of Phandalin, in the deep vales of the Sword Mountains, lies Wave Echo Cave. The rich mine of the Phandelver's Pact was lost five hundred years ago during orc invasions that devastated this part of the North. In the centuries since, countless prospectors and adventurers have searched for the lost mine, but none succeeded until the Rockseeker brothers found the entrance a month ago. Unfortunately, the Rockseekers did not realize they were being trailed by spies working for Nezznar, the Black Spider, and they inadvertently led the drow villain to their prize. Nezznar and his followers dealt with the two Rockseekers who were guarding their find, then arranged for Gundren's ambush. Learning of the adventurers' involvement with Gundren...

I just finished running the Lost Mine of Phandelver for my D&D [2e] group. There were a couple little bits they chose to skip, like the dragon, the cult, and the orcs, after making informed decisions and prioritization. What surprised me, however, with the published adventure is the setup for further machinations and how long the party can adventure using this basic setup as the basis. Here are a few things that have been set up between them and me: Relationship with the Dwarves.  The party did their part. They helped Gundrin Rockseeker find the lost mine and free his brother. For this, Gundren promised them "10 percent share of the mine's wealth once his operation there is up and running." I started looking at this from the point of view of a greedy dwarf (isn't that how we're told dwarves are?). Four out of the five party members are human. In my game, the Black Spider got away from the party after his troops were cut down. Gundrin is going to go after ...